The emerging reality on the ground in Israel regarding the nature of the Gaza flotilla, and the story being told around the world, are so utterly different that they could be taking place on two separate planets. As the days pass in Israel and more information is uncovered, the popular international narrative of brutal Israeli soldiers casually slaughtering tens of innocent peace activists bearing humanitarian aid drifts further and further from reality.

Details unfolded Wednesday regarding the background of those who attacked the commando squad, which was stunned by the violent ferocity of the presumed “humanitarians” aboard the Mavi Marmara. The most revealing source of information has been, interestingly, the Turkish media, which reported that the casualties of the clash had openly aspired to martyrdom. Being killed by an Israeli soldier was apparently the goal of the exercise. According to Ynet:

Media reports in Ankara on Wednesday revealed that three out of the four Turkish citizens that were killed during the raid declared their wishes to become shahids (martyrs). Another Dutch report claimed a Dutch activist who was arrested by the IDF is suspected of being a senior Hamas operative.

The new information disturbs the Israeli public — not because it sees its military as having behaved immorally, but because it seems that its political and military leadership were unforgivably duped and manipulated. They played directly into the hands of their enemies, whose humanitarian mission turned out to be a true Trojan Horse.

To be clear, the story of the Mavi Marmara is not the story of the entire flotilla. From international reports, one would think the flotilla was comprised of that single ship. But there were six.

The five other ships in the “Freedom Flotilla” were boarded and escorted to Ashdod, the passengers were disembarked, and the humanitarian aid was transferred over the border into Gaza. This was apparently not newsworthy.

As we know, the Mavi Marmara was another story altogether. Revealed in cabinet briefings and reported in Israel Today on Wednesday: the large boat contained between 50-100 passengers who had apparently been recruited and put on the boat by the IHH organization — which financed and organized the flotilla — with orders to violently attack the IDF soldiers expected to board.

“They came ready for battle. They came to kill and planned violence against the soldiers ahead of time” a military official told the cabinet.

These men were organized and well-trained, with a clear chain of command — there were leaders, deputies, and footsoldiers, divided up into specific groups, located in pre-designated locations on the top deck of the boat waiting for the soldiers to board.

They were fully equipped for battle. A search of the ship found weaponry — knives, axes, metal poles — as well as protective gear, bulletproof vests, masks, and night vision goggles. When they were apprehended, none of them carried any form of identification, and most of them had thousands of dollars in their pockets.

The story of the battle on board the boat became clearer as the soldiers were debriefed by the IDF and spoke to the media from their hospital beds — without being identified by name — in Israel Today.

According to plan, the soldiers had lowered themselves down by two ropes from a helicopter. The first two soldiers were immediately attacked and their pistols stolen before they could fire. The pistols were later recovered in the hands of two of the dead casualties of the fight, with their magazines empty.

Soon the “activists” tied one of the ropes to a flagpole on the ship. Fearing that the tethering of the helicopter to the ship would cause the helicopter to crash, one of the soldiers cut the rope. This slowed the flow of reinforcements onto the boat, as the following soldiers could only come down one-by-one on a single rope. In addition to the battering with knives and axes, stun grenades and a Molotov cocktail were thrown.

The soldiers told of the experience of standing surrounded by tens of attackers with knives and axes. According to Sergeant “A”:

Hundreds of angry people were laying in wait for us with weapons. They were attacking and hitting us with axes and knives and pipes. I saw one of my soldiers surrounded by tens of people hitting him non-stop. While we were prepared for violent resistance, we had not anticipated it on this scale. The clear goal of the activists on the ship was to kill us. Most of them were coming at us with knives and axes in their hands.

Sergeant “R” recounted:

Tens of them surrounded us with knives and axes. One of them approached me with his knife drawn, and after I understood that my life was in danger I drew my weapon and I fired once. To my surprise, at least 20 people dropped on me and threw me from the deck.

I stood up and felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I saw that a knife was stuck in my lower abdomen and I pulled it out. I then managed to get myself to one of the lower decks of the boat, where there were already a group of solders who were in control of that part of the ship and the passengers.

The soldiers interviewed by the newspaper said they were upset by the criticism of the operation — less so by the international attacks than the domestic critics:

It has been very hard for us to listen to the criticism being thrown for the past few days. People are sitting in air-conditioned studios and act like they understand what went on. They think they invented the wheel. Anyone who said we could have behaved other than how we did is simply wrong.

According to Ynet, the violent combatants are believed to be Turkish, Yemenite, and possibly Indonesian, and are believed to have been recruited and paid for their efforts by IHH — the organization that organized and funded the flotilla. Their interrogation has been made difficult by their refusal to identify themselves, but the media reports say there is reason to believe some have ties to global jihad groups like al-Qaeda.

One senior official admitted that the IDF soldiers who embarked on their mission had possessed too little information on what awaited them, saying that “everything should be done in order to gather all the factual data and prove that the humanitarian sail had a semi-military body with a completely different goal.”

Another told Fox News that the IDF operation had “bad equipment, bad tactics, and bad intelligence.”

One certainly could add to the list “bad public relations.” Perhaps Israel’s biggest failure has been to tell its side of the story properly to the world.

As the story of the assault on the soldiers comes into sharper focus, so do the missed opportunities of the early morning hours in Europe and then the U.S. immediately following the operation — the time when the world was seeing only the bloody pictures circulated by the flotilla.

For those key hours, all Israel was offering to the international media were verbal explanations and justifications. It offered no video evidence of its account, which it possessed. Why in the world, angrily asks David Horovitz of the Jerusalem Post, did it wait so long to release this crucial footage? Whoever was responsible for “sitting on” the footage of soldiers being attacked and beaten should lose his job, he declared:

Even allowing generous time for processing and editing the material, the footage could have been flashing across TV screens worldwide by our breakfast time, before news of the entire incident was even beginning to permeate. Would it have completely transformed the way the incident was reported and understood? No. Would it have greatly helped Israel’s case? Unquestionably.

Horovitz offered a challenge to the country’s prime minister: it is Netanyahu’s responsibility, he says, to apply the lesson of the the media failure of the Gaza flotilla and make necessary changes that could save Israel from such blunders in the future:

Will it spark the long overdue strategic overhaul of Israel’s conduct on the “second battlefield?” Will it finally prompt the prime minister to establish a single, effective, properly resourced hierarchy to coordinate the way Israel presents and explains its challenges in the media, legal, and diplomatic forums? As a former ambassador to the UN and a highly polished media performer, he of all people should understand what’s at stake. Surprise us, Mr. Netanyahu.

Allison Kaplan Sommer is a writer living outside Tel Aviv. She is a former PJM editor.

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1.
Buster Bunns

Fore-warned is fore-armed. Israel will not repeat this mistake twice. Tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets need to be the order of the day from the get-go.

Actually Max Boot had the best suggestion: Disable the ship when it was near Cyprus using Undersea “Navy SEALS” — so that either the ship slowly sinks or even better so that after about an hour, the engine simply fails to operate. In short: sabotage these ships. Then absolutely nobody needs to board and control the ships and the ship’s passengers end up looking like fools as they beg various countries to send out rescue boats to save them.

There’s really no need to board a single ship — not when you can sabotage it from below. For whatever reason, these Gaza-Ships all seem to want to dock or come close to Cyprus — it’s a perfect spot from which the Israeli underwater divers could operate. Indeed, they did this before on a different ship last year I think it was that eventually sunk.

It’s really the perfect solution. A slow leak or a timed charge that destroys the propellers somehow. No boarding needed.

…. …. Apparently, Hamas provides Public Relations services for Israel …. No other explanation for the ineptness, both in this incident and most others.

……….. Hamas wants to bring in heavy munitions by sea … large rockets, maybe even artillery. Building materials to construct bunkers. Anti-aircraft missiles in large quantities. …. The purpose of this “flotilla” was to establish that Hamas could bring in materials by sea without Israeli inspection. … … Israel would be out of its mind to permit uninspected shipments. ….

…………. Hizbulloh, in Lebanon, has 40,000 modern rockets … all acquired in violation of UN resolutions which ended the 2nd Lebanon war with Israel.

………….. Syria, Hizbulloh and Hamas are Iran’s proxies in this. … Iran is pulling the strings and calling the shots.

Meanwhile, one hopes that the people in charge of Israeli “hasbara” are paying attention. You cannot win these people over no matter what you do. They are not interested in truth but in a propaganda “score”.

So, “world opinion” will paint the IDF as a bunch of Nazi-like stormtroopers regardless of the level of “restraint”. Israel’s enemies, meanwhile, depend upon this very restraint to guarantee their personal safety when engaging in PR stunts. It seems like Israel has nothing to lose by taking the gloves off. The next flotilla that goes by gets ground up into fish food!

My personal favorite for the “Jennin – S… Piled High Award” goes to the French FM for his declaration, within minutes of the event becoming public, the ‘profound shock’ of the French, that such a blah, blah, blah, etc.

They continue to lie knowing the public can easily beome informed of the truth. That is like many I know who would call upon their Faith in religion. Faith in something that is untrue shall not make it truth. Consensus has nothing to do with science. The number of believers in a story does not make the story true no matter what the weight of numbers implicate.
They make these stories for posterity not for those who are aware of reality in the eternal NOW. These are lies for the children and grandchildren. This is a plot against the future. It goes down a trail of reality I want no part of. We must soon part ways, these purveyors of a world I don’t want and I. Either I shall be cast out or they shall have to eat the meat of the crow they called. Roosting time draws near.

Since this was planned well in advance the Palestinian Arabs had their PR campaign ready before the ships sailed. Hard to beat that. Besides, as others here have made clear, the media will condemn Israel no matter what it does. I think they should just stop trying and kill with wanton abandon. Works for the Iranians and Russians.

Highlights from Netanyahu’s speech: Israel is being attacked by international hypocrisy, and it is not the first time… I want the world to understand what would happen if we didn’t have the blockade. Iran would have its own port in Israel, a few kilometers from Jerusalem… It was not the love boat, it was the hate boat. It was not a peaceful mission. It was a terrorist flotilla…
In the English version he states a dark fact: I regret to say that for many in the international community no evidence is needed. Israel is guilty until proven guilty. Once again Israel is told that it has a right to defend itself but it is condemned every time it exercises that right.

Sheesh, can’t people get it into their heads: the antisemitic left is not ‘liberal’. these are a bunch of medieaval totalitarians and fascist-groupies. As a true humanist liberal, I find it stupid that people allow totalitarians to steal this word.

And ‘media’ is a plural noun. Hence ‘the media continue’, not ‘continues’. Sloppy writing leads to sloppy thinking, and we know where sloppy thinking leads: it leads to calling the only democracy in the Middle East ‘apartheid state’ and ‘terrorist state’, while real apartheid terrorist states like Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Libya, Cuba and China get to chair ‘human rights commissions’.

sheesh, John: in this country “media” is singular, so “the media believes that Israel is wrong” is correct, both grammatically and in content. (in the UK it would be “the media are…” perhaps you are writing from Canada?)

as for the meaning of “liberal,” I’m afraid some pretty totalitarian people have appropriated it. you will need to find another word to describe yourself until the wacko Left gives it back.

The all-telling video detail that caught this viewer’s eye sitting in his air-conditioned living room in New York was the black tape wrapped around the handle of an iron bar belonging to the “peace activists.” Tape wound around a stick-ball bat when I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn insured a good grip. The Islamist bastards were prepped and primed to inflict pain and injury. Nuff said.

What is really frightening about this story is that it is such a blatant in your face lie. The media and Israel hating leftists and terrorists have been emboldened and almost any story these days about the middle east is spun in an anti-Israel fashion. Obama too is playing into the hands of these terrorists and Israel is increasingly being played as thuggish state who will deserve whatever is coming to them. Just think about that for a minute! You can see the set up and the narrative when Iran starts a war and has a chance to use their nukes on Israel. Reaction from the so called civilized west? They finally got what they deserved!!

The mendacity is scary and just like the other lies that the media continues day to day (like global warming etc.), they think that a lie told often enough and reinforced by civilized peoples like the Brits, French and other europeans will somehow become truth.

We better stand for the truth and stand for Israel because we are approaching crunch time with these bad actors and liars. We cannot even rely on the US government to be a fair player in this contest nor the Jewish Americans who have sold out Israel too.

Heavy Turkish funding was responsible for the ‘success’ of this latest PR campaign – don’t look for that to end any time soon as the financiers (Turkish merchants) of the operations have deep pockets and are on a mission from god – at least in their warped minds.

If I were making the decisions in Israel I’d find a way to sabotage these ships at the docks. Failing that other better methods need to be thought out and brought to bear that don’t give these morons free PR. Disabling a ship in the dead of night isn’t all that difficult for a country as ingenious as Israel has shown themselves to be. Their last effort was reminiscent of The Keystone Cops.

This media’s unbridled exploitation of the false meta-narrative is much like the Duke lacrosse hoax. Those boys were declared innocent, yet if one watched the NCAA final this past weekend one would never know it. ESPN can’t even get it right and supports the false narrative – pitiful.

Most are unaware that several law suits remain in process, the fired coach sued again because the terms of the first agreement were violated (to support the false meta-narrative) or that the accuser was a drug-addled stripper. Go figure.

Israeli’ properly understand they can’t control the media as do most in the U.S. That is why the MSM audiences are running to the exits. The MSM misinterprets the run as a technology issue.

It’s more likely due to the fact no one trusts them anymore. Does anyone really care what the MSM has to say?

I just don’t understand why Israel went to the trouble of boarding these ships on the open sea in the first place. It does seem they played right into their opponents hands for unfathomable reasons. Why not simply disable the ships, tow to shore and board in port where they could bring more resources to bear.

As an added bonus, ship owners having to deal with expensive engine/prop repairs may be less inclined to play these games in the future.

I’ve no sympathy for those on the ships who instigated this affair, but have to say I’m puzzled by Israel’s fumbling actions.

Another example of the false meta-narrative is the Popular Mechanics story linked below (on the pajama media site) regarding the Top 10 oil spills of all time.

Listening to the US media one would think the current gulf incident or the Valdez would be #1 and #2. Neither are in the Top 10. It didn’t appear that any of the Top 10 were in the U.S.

Those other Top 10 get in the way of the attempts to force change in our energy policy to suit the neo-Marxists who are running things. It’s time for citizens to call bull-shit and call it loudly.

Of course a Top 10 analysis begs the question why we must drill in deep water vs. on-shore. The regulations moved the market to deep water innovation due to environmental regulations. So we end up with what sub-Saharan Africa got after DDT was banned. A bigger mess. Go figure.

Buster (#1): “Fore-warned is fore-armed. Israel will not repeat this mistake twice. Tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets need to be the order of the day from the get-go.”

That is indeed the obvious conclusion. What is just as obvious is the outrage at the next incident: “Brutal Israeli soldiers fire tear-gas and stun grenades at peace activists including elderly grandmother, baby, etc…”

Brilliant Hamas plan. Axes, knives, metal poles, slingshot, plain old kick butt wailing and fighting…these are ‘resistance’ measures. Old school killing. I would rather take a double shot 9mm to the head than die that way. Paintballs are not working… then fight for life. They were outnumbered, underarmed and defensive. Dropped the next wave in active firefight. That is what happened.

If Israel is involved in anything then the world wide political outcome is a certain bet no matter what they do.

No question that the Israeli government made the declaration of blockade full and clear and gave more than ample warnings and reasonable offer for transfer of the materials donated and safe passage for passengers. The ship declared its intention to run the military blockade and refused many offers to turn back.

Israel and Hamas are at war and have been for a long time. This was an attempt to break a military blockade using a veneer of civilian shield. Most Israelis are just upset that they didn’t see it coming.

The thing that worries me is that I don’t think our own government knows what is happening. This episode is a direct result of a weak US policy.

When are you people going to start packing your bags? Please bring your valuables. Please do not be concerned we will find a job for each of you. Please do not be over concerned about your transportation it will be provided free of charge . . . so when are you going to get it . . . Obama LIED!!!! He lies to everyone . . . if Israel does not take the initiative then in 2 years the country will NO LONGER exist. You have been warned . . . by the WHITE HOUSE. . . wake up!!!! Either YOU take control of your future or you will hear the unpleasant sounds of the tanks in Tel Aviv and those tanks will not belong to Israel. Wake up, Wake up, Wake up . . .

I believe I can answer your question, and, indeed, my mind forces me to digest and regurgitate the unpalatable truth nearly every day. But I am in a good mood, the sun is shining, the birds are whistling outside my door, Eviatar Banai music is on my computer, and my mind has pictured instead a vision of another Israel, after victory, when Egypt has been called on the carpet for the NPT affair, Turkey has been hobbled with Kurdish liberationists, ‘Ramallah’ is a Jewish suburb of Jerusalem, and a huge flag hangs over Tel Aviv, freed of missile threat, and it says, ‘Jews, Welcome Home. Bruchim Habaim.’

I personally yearn again for the salty sea, the humid air, and the sight of free Jewish youth again, running free in their homeland.

Even today it hurts me to say it, just a little: Kahane was right. Which is why he is dead.

the skanks are building mosques all over the place, paying off “reporters”, putting newspeople on their payroll, hiring trolls to bullshit all over the net and in all the comment sections. and you know what? it’s meaningless. this is a dark time for the West. that is why propaganda has no result, except preaching to the choir. every jew hater jerks off at the slimy blood libels and big lies. so what.
more important, is that israel use it’s military might right now and right away and fast. that they blow out of the water these asshats continuing on these “flotillas”. then deal with the midget and his gang hezbullah, hamas and do a dresden on damascus.
when it comes to keeping a balance, the deader they are the better.

It’s clear that not enough protection was given to the Israeli soldiers who found themselves in that situation. Otherwise, anyone who defends the “peace flotilla” is an obtuse paver of the road to hell. The passengers on the other six boats were human shields, useful idiots, manipulated to be there in order to provide cover for the jihadi activists (i.e., terrorists) on the Mavi Marmara and their mission to provoke violence for political gain. The useful idiots will, no doubt, continue to make themselves useful, without the least awareness that, should they cease to become useful, they’d be subject to the historical and inevitable end of all useful idiots: that which is euphemistically known in South American countries as “disappearance”.

The MSM always sticks with the meme that supports any left wing organization and the facts be damned. Lets look at a few: GWB lied to the world about WMD, Dick Cheney was the brains behind GWB, the Berlin wall came down because Gorbachev was such a peace nut, Islam is the same threat to the West as Christianity, James O’Keefe was trying to tamper with Landrieu’s phones, the Tea Partiers are racist homophobes, Obamacare will SAVE us money, we can be energy independent with Green jobs and many more lie that they know are false but just can’t change the story line.

….Karl Rove outed Valerie Plame; Wall Street and not F&F/CRA caused the subprime mess; Bush is to blame for Katrina; there will be no rationing under Obamacare; ACORN is a legit, honorable organization under attack by white racists…

Why do American Jews continue to swill this kooky far left-wing koolaid and vote like lemmings with those who would “wipe Israel off the map”…….????

Not only that, but many of them seem to think Sarah Palin and the religious Right are the biggest threats on the planet. If you find any video of Palin and her pastor clubbing IDF soldiers with pipes while screaming “Death to Zionists” please let me know.

I am a passionate supporter of Israel’s right to defend herself. The frustrating thing is that I apparently feel more strongly about the issue than many American Jews do. They’re too busy fretting over those terrible conservative fundies who are supposedly itching to drag all non-Christians to the baptismal font.

I believe that today we saw new Binyamin Netanyahu. We saw a man gripped with a reality, infused with an acceptance of a reality, that he knows can no longer be forestalled, held off, asked to wait for another, better day. We did not see Ehud Barak nor did we see, thank G-d, Livni, nor Bibi of yesterday.

Rather we saw a man who knows he must do more than save Israel. We saw a leader who has internalized the utter futility of the West on the topic of Islam and the ‘War on Terror.’ We saw realization that it’s all a cynical game for points and posturing, and that the PC has invaded the US in full measure, and in the person of the miserable Barack Hussein Obama, no genius, just a brainwashed Leftist with a Muslim heart with the practiced victimization of black America underpinning his ‘world view.’

Today we saw a Prime Minister who understands just how far the world has fallen, who understands that the War on Terror so-called is in recess. The kids have gone out to play, with their words of denunciation (for Israel), their enriching-with-the-oil-barons, their endless stalling and prevarication on the subject of Iran.

Today, I believe, we saw the last vestiges of baby fat fall from the brother of Yonatan Netanyahu. I know fairly well the story of Yoni Netanyahu; I was there that summer when the rescue occurred, and read Yoni’s book published after his death. I never though that the younger brother would ever resemble that man, who had the courage of all generations of Jews in his veins. Today I saw Yoni in Bibi, for the first time. And I feel peace, even as the storm prepares to break upon us once again.

Israel, after the years of Oslo, has returned to itself and found – I believe – a leader.

More than anything else, Bibi realizes that Israel stands alone; that no-one else can be relied upon for the defense of the Jewish homeland but its own people, not even the US. There is no room for bullshit when you’re a tiny country existing mere hours from a second Holocaust.

The PROPER response to a vessel attempting to run a bloackade would have been three warnings followed by cannon and machinegun fire.

An EXEMPLARY response would have been simulaneous napalm strikes on all six ships. This avoids the issue of weepy ‘innocent civilians’ showing up on CNN crying about how they were injured by evil Israeli cannon and machiengun fire.

Instead you get six burned out hulks at the bottom of the ocean, some charred human remains, no one contradict you story, and no doubt that you’re serious when you say “And we’ll do the same to the NEXT bunch of dumb bastards that try to run our blockade.”

The best part is, there’s no down side! It’s not like the palestinians and fundamentalists can hate Isreal any MORE! They’ve already cranked the dial to ’11!’ And the media is already carrying as much water for them as they can. So why bother playing nice?

The Jewish people in this country USA have supported the Democrats and helped elect this administration. Consequently they are reaping the results of their choices. I am a Christian and hate to see this anti-Isreal mood in the world but when the Jewish people in this country support the racist Democrats what do they expect. A weak USA does not help Isreal.

I say this with great love for Allison’s writing, which has been fun for years: the world of news reporting is upside-down when a mommy-blogger writing for a shoestring website is getting the story right, and the “real” reporters for public & private media — and NPR’s Linda Gradstein, I’m talking to you, you who for years have done nothing more than tell us what you’re watching on Israeli TV — can’t seem to tell ass from elbow on this. Allison, you rock, but seriously: Allison Kaplan Sommer, witty observer of Israeli culture, is getting this right, while all the “real”, “professional”, “hard news” reporters can’t manage to get three facts in a row? This is the first sign of the apocalypse, I’m sure of it!

The Israelis have forgotten the lesson that the Germans worked so hard to teach them. These people who hate Jews are dead serious, they will use every trick in the book, and they fully intend to have every Jew they can killed. There is nothing they wouldn’t do to take Israel down. Consequently, there is no negotiating with them, there is no compromise possible, and it is either you or them. The only thing that will make them stay their hands is fear: fear of death inflicted swiftly and surely by people who will no longer allow themselves to be killed with impunity. Tit for tat. What’s more, not only must that reasoning be used on the Jew-haters who use the guns and bombs, it must be used on those who use the press since it is a deadly weapon as well. MSM reporters who don’t tell the truth? No admission to Israel ever again. Maybe a quiet night visit back in their home country from someone with a silenced pistol, or an “accident” in traffic.

The bottom line is that fear and violence works. That is the reason that Muslims have every European government quaking in their boots–because the Euros know that the Muslims will not hesitate to use violence both individually and en masse. The only way to beat this is to make both the enemies and the weakling neutrals understand that siding with those who want to kill Jews is a damned dangerous occupation that WILL end up causing them a lot of dead. Make it clear also that the dead won’t only come from the cannon fodder, either. The “brass” get to be targets too.

The Muslims and their supporters only understand violence. Answer them in a way they not only understand, but in a way they cannot misunderstand. Announce publicly that the next time a boat approaches the Gaza exclusion zone, it will be sunk with no warning and that no survivors will be picked up. Israel, you’ve nothing to lose as no matter what you do you’ll be painted as the bad guys. If you’re going to be stuck with the reputation, you might as well have the benefits that come with it because those who hate you cannot possibly be converted. Yielding to them on the slightest point only emboldens them. Put the fear back on them and make them afraid of what you’ll do. It won’t bring you peace; nothing will. But it will buy you time and in this ugly world that’s all you can ask for.

It isn’t only Muslims who hate Jews and wish to extinguish Israel. How many non-Muslims on the Mavi Marmara — or on any of the other flotilla vessels — were anti-Semitic? Why do their hearts go out to the “poor” Palestinians — who are “poor” because Hamas, Syria, Iran, and others want them that way, to play the eternal “victim“ of Israeli policies– and not to the Israelis killed by rocket attacks and suicide bombers? Read the comments of the “peace activists” who were released and flown to Greece and Turkey. These people are drooling beasts, including one doddering old fool, an ex-U.S. ambassador who was on the Marmara. The mainstream media is automatically against Israel, even when it capitulates to “world opinion.” Mr. Sommer is right: the Marmara was intended to provoke the Israelis into extraordinary action, and its passengers included terrorists ready to kill anyone who took that action. If Hamas somehow got a tank and drove it into downtown Tel Aviv and opened fire, and was destroyed by the IDF, Israel would be blamed automatically for the consequent deaths of the crew. They were only “peace activists” bearing food and flowers. Yeah, right.

Also, one of the other vessels was named the “Rachel Corrie,” after the “peace activist” who slipped and fell and was killed by debris near an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza. The myth persists, perpetuated by the MSM, that the bulldozer driver deliberately crushed her. What were the names of some of the other vessels? Yassir Arafat? KSM? The Goebbels? The Heydrich? Anti-Semitism wasn’t snuffed out by WWII. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Muslim Brotherhood carried it on.

The thing that stood out to me was our (American) lack of real support for Israel. Past presidents have made it plain that they and their administrations supported Israel and therefore, this helped ward off the savages. Now, the world sees weakness and a president who doesn’t really support Israel. So the obvious is happening. Israel is being threatened from every side. And where, might I ask, is the support and outrage to this from American Jews? Are they so liberal they find it impossible to support Israel?

If you support Israel, despite the pro-terrorist propaganda of the worlds Leftist media, you can help let her know that many American citizens stand with her.
Here is the email address for the public affairs division of the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. paffairs@washington.mfa.gov.il .
It’s important that Israel knows she is not TOTALLY alone. Please pass this on if you agree.

Similarities with the current Border crisis in Arizona come to mind, it seems today no borders, no laws to protect borders are allowed whether it’s a Naval blockade or the American border with Mexico.
Coming soon to the Arizona area will most likely be America’s Mavi Marmara incident.

Drive all the Palestinians and any other Muslim from the inside the borders of Israel. Kill any that resist. Be prepared for war with the rest of the Middle east and when they attack invade their country and do not give it back. If the rest of the world starts causing problems nuke the oil fields and kill everyone’s economy. The money for the terrorists will be drastically reduced as will the funds that payoff the governments that support them. Russia and some South American tators will do really well for a short time. As soon as the power goes out in New York and California the opposition to developing our own oil reserves will evaporate. Life will be tough for a while but we can deal with it.

This whole thing is very interesting.
These muslins kill innocent people everyday.
They kill many women and children and very little is said.
When these terrorists are attacked and killed they cry like babies.
If these turks and the others want to do something, stop the terriorists.
All of these arab countries support the terrorists.

I find funny how you say that everyone is controlled by propaganda from “the left” (let me tell you, there is no “left” in the U.S.A, we europeans know that) and don’t realise that you are not any different.

Ok, so let’s accept the version given by Israel. Let’s accept that they were tricked, that behind the convoy there was an elaborated plan to trick Israel. That all this was an excuse to make Israel look as a complete monster.

Still, there is something I don’t understand: Why were Israel’s soldiers assaulting a ship in International waters?

512 – Hamas and Iran are more than keen to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Israel wanted to check to make sure the flotilla was NOT smuggling weapons. The “activists” refused the offer for the cargo to be docked in Israel or in Egypt for screening and transfer to Gaza. Therefore Israel acted to enforce its blockade and intercepted the ships in international waters — a legal action according to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (check it). Israel is enforcing the blockade as part of the armed conflict which Hamas, the de facto power in Gaza, is prosecuting against Israel with the aim of genocide as stated explicitly by its charter. Egypt, as you must know, also blockades its frontier with Gaza.

512: You Europeans have a way of getting things terribly wrong when it comes to Jews.

Why were Israel’s soldiers assaulting a ship in International waters?

Uh, duh, stupid, perhaps because those ships were running a blockade? And because despite what Euroweenies say, Israel has a right to defend itself. I agree that the Israelis made a mistake – their mistake was not to sink the damned ships and their scummy cargo. They wouldn’t have been condemned any more harshly by the EUnichs than they are now. The EUnichs, who think that screaming at Israel will ingratiate them with their soon-to-be Muslim masters. Let’s see if the carbeques in the Paris suburbs stop now. Or if Turkish guest workers in Germany become any happier.

(let me tell you, there is no “left” in the U.S.A, we europeans know that)

Oh, Obama is trying his best to bring us up to speed, so we too can become as morally, spiritually, intellectually and financially bankrupt as you folks, but he is running into a bit of resistance from people who, unlike Euro sheep, do not docilely accept the rubbish spoon-fed to them by their media and political elites. We still have a chance to turn our country around, you dolts are headed over the cliff. (But, I’m sure you’ll continue to feel mighty smug and superior right up until the minute you crash against the rocks.) Face it, you’re angry at Israel not just because you have a long, long history of Jew-hatred and being “anti-Zionist” is an acceptable way of expressing your venom, but because you long ago lost your balls and hate people who will defend their country and their civilization.

Lord, I think that after the Europeans murdered their Jews the collective IQ of the Continent dropped by at least 30 points.

Anything Israel does in it’s own defense is Israel’s fault, according to 512. Yeah, why don’t those damned Jews just quietly board the cattle cars and let themselves be killed, like they did 60 years ago? Those European Jews were so much more civilized, except for a few brutes who savagely attacked those nice enlightened Germans in the Warsaw ghetto.

Way to go Donna V. Note the tone of 512. Just another number in the old EU perfect society. Europeans are brain dead right now so don’t be too harsh on them. The unfortunate part of this is that some people still look to these people as if they really knew something-other than their benefits and entitlements. Sipping wine and eating cheese can only take a society so far before it goes down the tubes. Frankly they have made a pact with the devil/the muslims that they will be “eaten last”. Too bad!!